Natsu: Hey guys. So, Scarlet has ran into hiding for now. She told me to tell you that she is really, very sorry for not updating in a long time. She's been stuck on 'writers' block', as she called it. She said to enjoy the long chapter she has for you and she'll try to get the next update in as soon as possible, along with her other stories as well."

Anyway, DISCLAIMER! Scarlet does NOT own Fairy Tail, nor it's characters! All those rights go to Master Hiro Mashima. She only own the plot. She hopes you enjoy the chapter she has worked vigorously to get up.

Chapter 19

"Hello, my name is Zeref," said the dark haired man. "I hope my servants have treated you well, Lyon, Gray." His dark, compelling eyes bore into my face, making me squirm in discomfort. I shifted my weight to my right foot and folded my arms in front of my chest. I then glanced over to Lyon, seeing him size the man up with a cold glare, his muscles tense I gathered my courage and fixed a glare at the man's, Zeref, face as well, trying to figure him out; what was he planning? After waking up in a metal carriage with my body feeling like it's been run over by a herd of bulls, this was the last thing I expected. A warm welcome.

"How do you know our names?" Lyon demanded, breaking the deafening silence. Zeref's smile only widens as he waved to the people behind us. I glanced at them from the corner of my eye, tensing my muscles. It was the purple eyed woman again standing beside someone I've never seen before. He was a large, muscular man with a kind unshaven face. His blonde hair flopped in his blues eyes as he gazed at Lyon and me before turning to his master.

"Georges, go tell the cook to prepare a brunch for my cousins. And Misaki go run them their baths," he ordered. Cousins? My jaw dropped and my eyes widened as I looked back to Zeref as they left, closing the door softly behind them. I saw Lyon wearing a similar expression from the corner of my eye.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled, finally finding my voice. Luckily it didn't give away any the nervousness that I felt. He eyes glimmered with patience but I didn't trust him one bit.

"I know you probably don't remember me, but I'm Ur's nephew, Zeref Black. We played together when we were younger when aunt Ur was still around." My eyebrows furrowed as I gazed at him in disbelief. I don't remember playing with anyone but Lyon when we were younger. I looked to said man to see if he knew what was going, but instead of seeing a look of confusion, it was a look of realization and something else. Fondness?

"Yeah I remember you. But were not related to Ur; we were her slaves," Lyon replied. We were? I blinked a few times. Ur found us in the woods and took us in as her sons. We were never her slaves. I may not remember much from my childhood here, but I remember that day. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I took a deep breath. My head was beginning to hurt now. "What the hell are you talking about?" I whispered.

"I know," Zeref answered, ignoring my question. I balled my fists again. "But in her letters, she said you two were practically her sons." Letters? I brought my fingers to my head and rubbed my temples.

"She talked about us?" Lyon asked, relaxing completely. Zeref smiled. My hands shook. What the hell.

"Yes. She wrote to me every week and you two were always mentioned or talked about. It was quite entertaining."

"What are you two talking about?" I whispered again but I was still ignored. My head was started to hurt more as they began their reminiscing. But I was still on the slave part. I was never Ur's slave. She adopted him and me when she found us in the woods. I remember.

I glanced around the wood from the hollow of the tree Lyon and I resided in. I pulled closer to Lyon as footsteps came closer to our hiding spot. I squeezed my eyes shut as the person stood right in front of us. Lyon clung to me even more now as I shook. A hand reaches down and grabbed onto Lyon and pulled us out. I screamed and so did he, but it was fruitless. We were caught and there was no one around to save us.

"Shhhh," I heard a voice coo. I ceased screaming but I kept my eyes shut and clung to Lyon as he looked up to the figure.

"It's alright. You're safe." I felt Lyon's quick heart beat slowly decrease as he stood up.

"Who are you?" he asked pulling me closer. I whimpered from the tightness but didn't let go.

"My name is Ur. What are your names?" Ever so slowly, I opened my eyes. I looked up and saw a beautiful dark haired woman on one knee, eye level with us. She smiled at me. I couldn't help it. I smiled back and blushed. She's so pretty, I thought.

Lyon took a deep breath before he answered. "My name's Lyon and this is Gray." I slid behind Lyon, hiding from the beautiful lady, blushing as I did.

She looked at us with benevolent eyes as she reached forward and took Lyon's and my hand. "Well Lyon, Gray, why don't you come with me. I live just down this path. I can give you a bath and food. You can live with me forever." She stood up and guided us to the house we had seen earlier.

"Yes please," I said, my smile growing.

"So how did you get the house?" Lyon asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Didn't it get confiscated when Ur died?"

"Yes it was. It was difficult to get back. It was abandoned since her death and was supposed to be torn down so the council could build a city, but once I was out of school five years ago, I assumed my father's company and bought the house and the land. I had refurbished once it was mine and have been living here ever since."

"It looks amazing. Like we never left," Lyon stated in awe, looking around the room. I mirrored the action. That I could agree with. It was no wonder everything was so familiar; everything was the same. It was all coming back to me as I took in more of the room. It's been a long time, but the memories of being in the house were becoming clearer. I glanced over to the book shelf to all the ancient looking books to the vanity with the small picture frames on it. One was of Lyon, me and a dark haired boy that looked an awful lot like Zeref. I blink as even that memory of Zeref came back. In the background was a large snow covered pine tree. We were all huddled together. Flurries of snow spotted the shot slightly as we smiled widely at the camera. We had been celebrating our first snow together.

"But wait. How did you find us?"

A knock from the door sounded before opening. "Sir, the baths are ready," said a husky voice. I looked behind me and saw the purple eye woman, Misaki.

"Thank you, Misaki. Well, as we wait for your food why don't you follow Misaki to your new room. Take as long as you need." He gestured to the door behind us and pushed away from the desk he had been leaning on. "When you've finished, call for one of my servants and they will direct you to the dining room."

Lyon gave Zeref a warm smile as he stood up, but before we went to the door, Lyon strode to dark haired man and gave him a hug. Quick pats were exchanged before they pushed a part. They held onto their shoulders a bit longer before Lyon came over to me by the door. He led the way out and I quickly followed suit.

The walk to the room was uneventful, despite the odd looks Misaki sent me. It was almost like she knew me, which was creepy because from this close she looked eerily familiar. I blew a breath of relief when we were safely locked in the bathroom of a large room that I assumed Zeref wanted as our new bedroom. As I looked around it, I started to recognize it and the contents. The grand kind size canopy bed held a comforter with an intricate pattern of golden stitching and maybe about ten pillows in contrasting colors at the head of the mahogany headboard. Huge glass doors led out to a terrace bordered by dark blue drapes a few feet near the bed. A mahogany desk sat on the other side of the room, matching the head board and the dresser. Across the room was a simple door that I assumed was the closet.

Lyon was still smiling even as we were easing ourselves into the giant bath tub. Now it was really starting to annoy me. How could Lyon have a better memory of Zeref than I did? I mean, I recognized him and I remembered some things based on photographs. Everything else, though, was nonexistent. I decided to ask him.

"Hey Lyon?"

"Hm?" He leaned his head against the ledge opposite of me and closed his eyes, a peaceful expression settling over his dirty features.

"Who's Zeref?"

He jerked his head up and snapped his eyes open as surprised registered on his face. He gazed at, giving me an 'are-you-serious' look.

"He's an old childhood friend Gray. How do you not remember?" he asked once he saw that I was serious.

I shook my head, even more annoyed now. "Well, I do, but it's so blurry, almost like he's not there at all. Some things I remember but…" My voice trailed off, uncertain.

He cocked an eyebrow. "I far as I remember, Zeref had always been there. Playing with us, sleeping in our bed together, even helping us with our tasks. He doesn't look that different from then, are you sure you don't remember him?"

"Pretty sure." I shrugged my shoulders.

He drew a breath in and sighed. "Well maybe you'll remember if you spend some more time here, ne?" I opened my mouth, and then closed it a few seconds later. I couldn't argue with that. But there was one major setback: Natsu. He's probably worried about me, looking for me. I've got to get in contact with him and soon. I feared that he would do some unnecessary damage if I didn't tell him where I was soon. I didn't voice these thoughts to Lyon, but I will have to tell Zeref. Maybe he could give me something so I could contact Natsu. Hopefully he'll understand.

"Let's just relax for now, k?" I cracked an eye open, seeing Lyon set his head back down against the ledge, shutting his eyes once more. I smiled and placed my head down in the same fashion.

"Yea," was the last thing spoken until we let ourselves succumb to the hot bath water and relaxation.

….

I woke up to lukewarm water running over my exposed chest, warming it. I opened my eyes to Lyon in between my legs, leaning over me with a rag and a bar of soap. He was smirking as he placed the toiletries on the ledge of the tub and pulled me forward by my arm. He retrieved the rag and began to wash my upper body. I was shocked to say the least, but I let him do what he wanted. It's not like it's our first bath together. I let him run the rag over my damp chest, carefully over my face and arms. It was a very slow process, one he seemed to take great pleasure in. His normally spiky white hair deflated and fallen in front of his eyes from the moisture the steam had given off as he gazed at me, eyes intense and steamy. I shifted in discomfort from the stare and pushed his nearing body away from me. I took the rag away from him as surprise and hurt registered in his evergreen eyes, but I ignored him. It made me insanely guilty, but alarms were going off in my head every time he either gave me a look or came too close.

This made me wonder. The last time I talked to Lyon, it didn't end so well, with him sending me cold glares and flirting with Juvia. As I washed my bottom self, I glanced to Lyon a few times as he washed himself, trying to figure out his change of heart. If I knew Lyon, he was one to hold grudges. No matter how big or small, it was always difficult for him to let something go. I remember one time when one of our cabin mates, Cana Alberona, had offered to cut Lyon's hair when it had grown long enough to become troublesome to our work. And… Well…..

… Somehow she gave him an afro. A full, six inch, white as winter afro.

Lyon had been the target of jokes for weeks afterward and had been angrier than a bee after having its nest wacked by a huge stick a hundred times. Every time Cana came ten feet near him he would treat her with an icy glare. You could practically feel his murderous intent coming off of him in waves whenever Cana merely glanced his way. It took months for him to even speak a word to her and even longer to have a conversation with her without tension in the room. As entertaining as it had been, we all knew then not mess with Lyon like that ever again.

So seeing him be friendly with me like this after what happened between us back at the cabin baffled me.

I finished washing myself and placed the rag on the ledge. I stretch my back out and began to stand up. Before I could even bring myself to my knees, however, I was suddenly jerked down by my arm. I looked up in surprise. Lyon's face was centimeters from mine as I stared into his green orbs. His expression was conflicted as the seconds went by. I blink a few times, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, I looked away and tried to get up again but he kept me down with his firm grasp on my elbow. I tugged it from him but he refused to let go. He stared at me longer before suddenly, his warm lips were on mine. I jerked away but he held me in place with his hand behind my head. I pushed my hands on his shoulders, trying to get away from him. His grip was strong. Stronger than mine sadly. Water sloshed around as I struggled against him as he pressed his body to mine. I felt something stiff against my thigh and my body went rigid. NO.

I moaned and flailed around even more now. Water lapsed out of the tub as I tried to stand up and away from him but he pulled me right back down again. He hovered over me, one hand cupping the back of my head, the other taking my wrists into my hands.

"No!" I exclaimed when Lyon focused his lips onto my neck. My breathing became gasps as Lyon trailed kisses down my bare abdomen. It was when he came to my cock did his grip on me lessen.

Big mistake.

I wrested my hands from his and fisted his hair before he could descend onto my cock. I yanked his head up and threw him off me. Later I would feel guilty for hurting him like that, but right now, my first thought was to get out of there and quickly. I leaped from the tub, water flying everywhere. I slipped on the puddles and fell to the ground. Hard. It didn't stop me though.

"Gray, wait! Stop! I'm-"

Ignoring him, I grabbed one of the large robes that Misaki had placed on the counter earlier and I ran out of the bathroom. I threw the door of the bedroom open and sprinted down the hallway, disregarding the calls from Lyon. I took random turns, paying no attention to where I was going. I had one goal in mind: find Zeref and convince him to let me go back to the plantation and Natsu. As I began to slow down, I started to recognize my surroundings. I had entered a long hallway that had portraits lining the wall. It was all eerily familiar. Maybe I spent some time in this hall when I was younger. I slowed my pace to a leisure walk, forgetting what happened in the bathroom for a moment as I took in the scene in front of me.

I didn't realize I was nearing the end until I saw a familiar set of dark eyes staring back at me. I blinked a few times and stepped away from the wall I didn't know I was so close to. I regarded the woman in the painting with a feeling of nostalgia. She was as beautiful as always, with her chin length hair, fair ivory skin, warm smile that made everything better when I was younger. Ur stared back at me from the wall and I couldn't help but smile back. This was the woman that made my life much better when I was really little. She gave me a life I had never dreamed of at the time. One I had just begun to glimpse at again thanks to Natsu.

"She's quite beautiful, isn't she?"

My back straightened and I snapped out of my thoughts from the sound of the new voice. I turned around and saw an amused look on Zeref's face as he stared at me. He chuckled at my surprised expression before sauntering over to me and gazing up to Ur's face. A look of contentment crossed his features as he considered the portrait. Then he looked to me with an expectant look. I looked to him confuse then realized he wanted to me to answer his question.

"Yea, she is. Was," I corrected.

"I'm planning to have my portrait hanging here soon. I would like for you and Lyon to be in it as well," he continued. I gave him an odd look.

"I don't think that's necessary," I replied. "We aren't Ur's actual sons. We're Bistros, meant to serve. It would an insult to have slaves' pictures on the wall."

There was a long silence before he spoke again. "I never really believe in slavery. Even though I had my nursemaids and servants of my own, I never like how they were treated so lowly. Like they were scum." He wrinkled his nose at that. "That's why I'm donating to the resistance. Have you heard of it?" I nodded. "Well, that saves some explaining." His gaze went back to the pictures' a tender look crossed his face. Then he sighed and folded his hands behind his back.

He was just about to walk away when I finally asked, "Can I ask you a favor?"

He paused mid-step and turned around. He was shocked to say the least. "Depends. What can I do you for?" He turned to me fully, giving me his undivided attention.

"Well, I was wondering if you could let me go back to where I came from for a short while," I told him. His eyebrows shot to his hairline but I quickly continued before he could saw anything. "You see, your servants kinda took us really suddenly and there's someone I really care about who's probably worried about me. I just want to reassure him that I'm fine."

"Can't you do that without leaving?" he asked. "Wait, 'him?'

"Yes, he's a 'him,' I said with a smile. "And if I were to just send him a message, he would probably track me down and drag me back himself. I promise I'll come back. I'll even bring him back with me and you could meet him…" My voice trailed off as his gaze turned away from mine and back to Ur's portrait. His face was intense with thought as his cool eyes regarded her. I held my breath, hoping for the best.

A few minutes of silence passed before he finally fixed his gaze back to me. He smiled and said, "Alright. I'll have you changed and ready to leave within the hour."

SOooooooo, was it alright. Can she come out of hiding? Please review! It'll help her come out and write some more!

Anyway, comment, like, criticize, whatever, just respond! She loves you all very much. Oh and also. She created two polls for you guys to take on her profile! The first one is which story should she update most. The other is if she should write a lemon on GrayxNatsu, NatsuxGray, write a lemon on a different anime that's on her profile or not at all. You can also PM me your vote and anonymous viewers can leave your answer in reviews. Go and vote so she can start writing again!

Review Replies:

theabridgedkuriboh: haha, you really make me laugh. But your view might've changed about him now ;) hehe

Guest (aka Tydolt99): I'm sorry I made you mad. I would be too, in fact sometimes I am with some authors and you're probably mad now again. I'm really sorry about all this. Here have a cookie (gives reader a cookie) I'm just really stressed with school and college apps, I hope I satisfied you with this ;) The purpled eyed woman's play will come in however, I hope you got something from this chapter. She isn't Minerva, but someone important. And I'll try to add in some Gratsu next chapter since Gray is going back to Natsu now :)

Netherius99: I'm glad you enjoyed the little twist I added. I didn't want to be too obvious, so I'm glad I surprised some people ;) I absolutely loved your ideas, and although I didn't use them this chapter, who knows, maybe I'll use them soon ;) I don't think they're stupid at all :) but I hope you liked this one just as much :)

YaoixJoe 3: Thanks Joe, that really means a lot! And don't worry, this story isn't going to be about the angst. I'm not really a fan of all that, so no need to worry about character death :) I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

x0xalexis8: Yes ZEREF! :D

6purplecats: Thank you, I really appreciate it :)

KuroshitsujiForever: (jumps on reader) DON'T DIE! NOOOO!

Pholas: Thanks so much! And who knows, maybe I'll use that idea, you never know ;) And I'm pretty sure I PMed you about the Bistro thing, so I hope you aren't confused anymore :) I hope you liked this chapter!